1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hospital-type gown which may be in the form of a launderable surgical gown, or the like.
2. Prior Art Statement
Hospital-type gowns, such as surgical gowns, are widely used in hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics, and the like by health professionals such as doctors, medical assistants, nurses, and nurses' aides; and, particularly where there is a possibility of coming into contact with contaminated body fluids, every effort is made to protect the health professional. Health professionals routinely wear surgical gowns of the type disclosed herein to either perform surgery or assist in surgery, draw blood, work with specimens containing contaminated fluids, or work where there might be a spill of contaminated fluids. Especially in instances where patients may have Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the health professional wants to have as much protection as possible.
Hospital-type gowns, such as surgical gowns, proposed previously usually consist of a main body comprised of a front panel with a pair of side panels on opposite sides of the front panel and a pair of sleeves fastened to the panels and each terminating in a cuff at the terminal outer end thereof. However, the front panel, side panels, and sleeves of such a previously proposed gown are usually single-ply panels and sleeves. Further, the side panels of such a gown are usually attached to the front panel by stitch means or stitches and likewise the sleeves are attached to the front and side panels by stitches. However, it is well known that stitches inherently perforate the materials used to make the front panel, side panels, and sleeves of the gown and thereby provide openings through which a contaminated liquid might pass and reach the wearer of a gown whereby previously proposed gowns are deficient even when such gowns are made of substantially hydrophobic materials due to the single thickness of their panels and sleeves and due to the stitch means which perforate the materials used to make such previously proposed gowns resulting in such gowns not providing optimum protection against liquid permeating therethrough.